It was founded in 1875 in a city one hundred kilometers from Buenos Aires and joined the AFA in 2022.
In Argentine football, everyone knows Gimnasia y Esgrima de la Plata, a club with 127 years of history that was founded on June 3, 1887, but since 2022 it has ceased to be the oldest team affiliated with the Argentine Football Association (AFA). since Club Mercedes, created on May 12, 1875, 12 years before Lobo, achieved historic affiliation after being selected among several teams to compete in the First D.
The Mercedino club, located almost one hundred kilometers from the City of Buenos Aires, joined the AFA in 2022 after almost 150 years of waiting. Club Mercedes had applied, along with Everton de La Plata and Estrella de Berisso, to be able to compete in the Primera D, the lowest category of Argentine football. Although the criteria used at that time to make the decision are unknown, it is known that the proposal had been promoted by Wado de Pedro, former Minister of the Interior and born in the Buenos Aires city.
In Bulletin No. 6221 of the AFA, the news of the restructuring that the promotion championships would undergo was announced. This restructuring resulted in the unification of the First C with the First D, so since the beginning of 2024 Club Mercedes is not only affiliated with the AFA, but is also professional for the first time in its history.
When the news was announced, Guido Pisoni, the president of the club, spoke with TycSports.com and declared: “I never imagined that the possibility of the First C could arise, it caught us unexpectedly. We are trying to form working groups and we will do a little ‘walking’. We are happy and preparing ourselves in the best way.”
In addition to Gimnasia and Club Mercedes, there are two teams that enter the dispute of the oldest clubs in Argentine soccer. Quilmes, a club from the Buenos Aires suburbs, has a founding date that lasted until the 40s, when it was changed for another. Until the end of that decade, the Quilmeños celebrated the birth of their club every November 5, since that day in 1897 the Cervecero had been founded. In 1949, after achieving promotion, they celebrated their anniversary again, but the founding date had changed to November 27, 1887.
For its part, Rosario Central, was created a few hours before Christmas 135 years ago, on December 24, 1889. As is the case with many clubs in Argentina, Canalla’s first name was in English: Central Argentine Railway Athletic Club. Although the Rosario club is 2 years smaller than the La Plata club, it managed to compete officially several years earlier, when it was part of the 1903 Competition Cup.
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